Always Sunny Everyday
by Luftslott
Summary: "Before he had a chance to process what she had asked, the lights were turned on and their eyes slowly started adjusting to the brightness. She truly was a beauty, and he felt pure ecstasy in every corner of his being. This was the best thing that had happened to him in a very long time. - But oh, how fast a moment can pass." Rated M for sexual themes and a plot involving murder.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer - I do not own Bleach or any of the characters portrayed in this fic -

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_2.23 AM Urahara's place_

It was not an usual sight for the neighbors to see the young shop owner bring home an actual woman. Yes, they had seen a couple of teenagers hanging about the building during the day. Once or twice they might even have seen the shop owner's kids bring home a friend or two. But it had been years since they saw a full grown woman cross the doorstep. Especially not at two thirty in the morning. From their viewing point at a window on the opposite side of the street, the elderly inhabitants shook their heads as they watched the very drunken pair stumble towards the man's house. "Such a disgrace", they muttered as they closed the blinds and went back to sleep.

Being a disgrace was however the last thing on Urahara's mind as he carried the by now half undressed woman the last few steps towards his home.

The kids and Tessai were away on a mini-vacation and he was left all alone. He couldn't pass on the chance to finally clear his head of all the fighting that had occurred over the past few years.

Ever since he had met young Ichigo, his formerly dull life had reversed into it's present state of madness. Not that he complained much, he had liked the action once – but his laid back and carefree nature had protested the return of a shinigami life.

That side of his personality was thankful of how easy it was to get distracted from ones troubles when you had your hands on a woman's body. This was just what he had needed and just what he had planned when he earlier that evening had gone to the pub with his friend Isshin. Of course, Isshin had left the pub before he made a move on this woman, and it was just as well. His sex life was best left a secret, not that he had much of a sex life nowadays anyway. As every bit of information that got to Isshin somehow found its way to the teenagers' ears, Urahara figured he would at least pretend to be some sort of a role model for them.

"Aren't you going to unlock the door?" the woman whispered huskily in his ear. The feeling of her hot breath against his skin pulled him back to reality. She was so intoxicating that he couldn't wait to get inside an rip the remainder of her clothes off.

"Uh huh" was the most intelligible words he managed to form.

It didn't take too long to get the door open and get them inside.

The house was dark and quiet, just as he had hoped. Without taking time to turn on the lights he managed to carry her up to his bedroom. His experienced feet never missed a step, not even when the only light he had to guide his way was a small string of moonlight that was reflected in the woman's blonde hair.

She giggled eery when he accidentally tripped on her thrown away bra at the top of the staircase. "Oops," she murmured, as she continued to gently bite at the base of his neck. The pair came to a halt just then as she continued undressing him until they were both completely naked.

Then she smiled at him "I, um, we need to use protection" she said biting her lip. "Do you have…?"

"Sure, it's in the bathroom, let me go get it" he said kissing her fiercely.

The woman hesitated, eyes flickering towards the bedroom. "Or we can just risk it" she said. There was a pause when she smiled at him like he meant the world to her, or at least he thought that the smile told him that she meant _something_ to her. "In my experience, a guy with a pet is always a keeper."

"What?" he said not really grasping what she meant, and not really caring. He needed this, so badly.

As he backed into his bedroom with the voluptuous woman in his arms he realized that she didn't mean anything to him. He didn't care that he didn't know her last name. She would never see the inside of his house again. She was tense release, nothing else.

He liked it that way, without deeper emotions getting in the way. It was easier then, much cleaner. Maria would only ever be a mere body to him.

The moment of thought had passed. Maria stumbled after him, letting her hands run wildly over his broad chest. She answered between kisses "Yeah, um, the cat outside wasn't that yours?"

He lifted her up, smashing their bodies into the open bedroom door. The motion was possibly a bit to harsh but he hadn't full control of his body anymore.

"What cat?" he murmured into her chest, kissing every inch of flesh that he could reach.

"Oh, never mind then," she said while letting her hand travel lower. She was stroking the contour of his stomach muscles. He shifted as she let her fingers travel south in a soft and slow motion. A moan slipped from his lips.

Her other hand was busy elsewhere. She had reached for the lightswitch at her left side, murmuring "Hey, actually I prefer doing it when I can see what I am doing. Do you mind?"

Before he had a chance to even begin to process what she had asked, the lights were turned on and their eyes slowly started adjusting to brightness. She the truly was a beauty, and he felt pure ecstasy in every corner of his being. This was the best thing that had happened to him in a very long time and he wanted to relive this moment for an eternity.

Oh, how fast a moment can pass.

He didn't know what came first, the high pitched squeal from the woman or the instant retraction of her limps from their places on him,

He did know that the he wasn't prepared for any of it.

Before he knew what had happened she had already begun to walk away. "You pervert," she had screamed as she stormed off. He didn't know what else to do but to follow. His feet were somehow carrying him, though he didn't know who commanded them to do so. Everything was still a blur from both the alcohol and the pleasure.

"Where are you going?" he called, hitting Earth again with a force he had not known was possible. "What's wrong?"

The woman was already at the base of the stairs. Looking up at him, searching his face for answers, while he was searching hers for whatever clues it could hold.

"Don't you dare follow me! If you take one step down the stairs…"

Urahara swallowed rapidly, taking a step backwards in a sign of submission and disbelief. He could feel the door to the bedroom press against his naked back.

The woman, now fully clothes shouted "I will _not_ participate in some weird threesome!". And then she was gone. Slamming the door behind her.

"Threesome? What?" he shook his head in disbelief. _Such a nutcase_, he thought, teeth clenching together out of anger and disappointment. He had not only wanted, but needed a woman's company.

It was only then he turned to face the bed.

There was another woman in his bedroom, he realized. She was lying on top of his sheets. Waiting for him.

Where the other woman had been clumsy and giggly, this woman was serious in a carefree way. Where the other woman had been sweet, this woman was dangerous. Where the other woman had been innocent and fair, this woman was as dark and lean as an exotic cat. And when this woman smiled at him from the bed, it was like hell and heaven intertwined in a forbidden mixture of pleasure and wickedness.

"Boo" Yoruichi said, almost laughing. "Didn't think you'd actually show up here with a woman."

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_More Yoruhara in the next chapter, I promise._


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for continuing reading!

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_2.26 AM Urahara's place_

"Boo" Yoruichi said, half laughing. "Didn't think you'd actually show up her with a woman."

"Of course" he said. "You."

Urahara wasn't even flustered over the situation, neither was there any red glow to his cheeks. He only stood there, in the doorway to his own bedroom, looking at her. He didn't think twice about his nakedness or aroused state. It wasn't in their nature. It had never been and would never be.

"Damn she was hot," she said as if it was news to him. The cat woman stretched in an almost inhuman way before she fell to lay sprawled across the bed. Her yellow eyes burning holes in the ceiling. "I almost feel bad for you."

"You should," came the stifled reply. "I needed a bit of a tense release."

"Really?" she said laughing, eying his body in a way that said that she was bored of looking at him. Unsurprised.

"I've never seen you like this," Yoruichi admitted. There was a pause and she laughed. "You honestly didn't even sense my reiatsu?"

"No" Urahara replied taking a deep breath.

The dark woman laughed cruelly as she moved to sit up.

"You are so cute, getting all worked up over a woman" she commented. He could see every teeth in her mouth when she smiled like that. She looked a bit like a tigress that was playing with her food, waiting for it to give up and succumb into nothingness. "Come on, you got to admit it was a bit amusing."

"I feel like crying from hilarity," he said. He was looking at a bug that was trying to escape into the wooden floor just a meter away from his feet.

"Naw, don't look so hurt," Yoruichi replied. "I can smell the sarcasm all the way here."

There was a pause, when they just looked at each other. Both trying to navigate into the other ones soul. As always it left them with a strange connection. The deep grey eyes of the blonde shop owner told Yoruichi what she already knew. They were comrades, not lovers. At once Yoruichi felt a weird tingle run through her body. He actually looked a bit hurt, she thought to herself.

"Hey, I know! Do you want me to help you finish?" she offered with a wink.

"Yoruichi" he said turning the lights off. "So not funny."

"Actually, I think I might be a bit serious. Really, you look like it is hurting."

He also looked damn sexy, but that was something she could keep to herself. He didn't have to know that her boredom was only a facade, that she had been trying to steady her breath ever since the light had been turned on by that woman. His nakedness had come as a bit of a chock, at first had he only had his back against her but the sheer knowledge that he would have to turn at some point had left her with a smile she couldn't hide. _That poor woman, she must have seen the hunger in my eyes_, she thought. It really was a bit of truth in what Yoruichi had said, but if Urahara wanted to ignore or dismiss their connection as friendly mockery, she was too stubborn to do anything about it herself.

"Could we not do this right now," he muttered as he walked over to his bed.

"You even walk funny," she said in a tone that made it obvious that she was a bit amused over his current state. There might have been much darker thoughts running through her head at that moment too, but it wasn't anything she would ever admit or let show. Especially not now, when he was that burdened with trouble.

"Yoruichi," he said warningly.

There was a darkness in his eyes. It had been a long time since she last had seen _Kisuke the man _instead of _Urahara the friend_. These feelings of want and lust had been there just below the surface the last time too. At that time it had been difficult to imagine a world where her friend was not more to her than a friend once more. However, time passed and none of them did anything to express the change in atmosphere between them. After a while, the broken facades began to heal and the walls between them rebuilt. Before long, the incident, when she walked in on Urahara with a woman, was forgotten and they were true friends once more.

Could she recover from this as well? She hoped so. Or at least she thought she did.

"OK OK I'll stop," she said. Eager not to let him see the emotions that had awakened inside of her dance behind her eyes, she yawned and continued "Fine, I'm sorry I spoiled your game."

He climbed into the bed next to her.

"Good, now move over. I need some sleep."


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for reading. This chapter contains a tad violence. You have been warned:)

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_2.40 AM Karakura Town_

How many things a woman's presence in a man's bed can cause.

It didn't take long for the blonde woman to compose herself after the humility of walking into the man's bedroom only to find a naked woman laying on the bed, lurking. Waiting. Urgh, she didn't want to think about it anymore. What had happened was in the past and now she would move on.

She had been delusional, but he had been kind and what else had he been? She couldn't remember anything else about his personality. She had fallen for those abs she had felt through his garments when they bumped into each other by the bar. He had been dressed in a tent, more or less, not a very fashionable dresser. But she was only a woman and she wasn't that picky. If he hadn't turned out to be such a jackass, she would have spent the night there with him. She knew she would have. She would have been there now – kissing him, running her hands over those well defined abs.

"Maria, you couldn't have known," she told herself as she walked down the road in search of a taxi to take her home.

The night air still felt warm, the asphalt had carried the heat from the hot day even until this late hour. The birds still hadn't gone to sleep and neither had the guests at the various pubs in the area. A light breeze was drifting through the city, filling it with excitement and hope over the arriving summer.

In the pub to her right, the one she had been to earlier, a young couple had just said goodnight to their friends and retrieved their jackets from the guard at the door. The man looked like he was in his late twenties and the woman only a couple of years older. The woman impatiently waited outside as the man had gone to fist bump his bartender friend one last time.

She was tapping her foot in a rapid motion as the blonde woman approached her, "Do you know where I can get a taxi around here?" Maria asked.

"Well, ya kno" she began in a foreign accent. "Ah think ya can gat won fro tha streat thaer"

She pointed towards the closest street and be it coincidence or fate but something happened as the two women crossed paths. They felt connected, secure from the ever moving world. They felt as if the summer could never end.

Maria thanked her and walked a couple of meters towards the street.

She didn't get further than that before she was shot. BAM, BAM. Two bullets. One for the other woman and one for her.

The woman with the foreign accent died instantly as the metal dug into her skull and exploded in it, but the blonde's passing took several minutes. For every second that went by, her heart wrenching screams grew louder and louder until they couldn't be held back by the leather jacket that was pressed against her nose and mouth. She cried out of misery and pain as her life force drained out of her along with her blood. She cried for the last time in herlife.

After a while, when the sidewalk had been painted red by her blood, Maria finally found peace in the warm summer night.

It could just as well have been Ichigo and Rukia who died that night, it could have been Urahara and Yoruichi or Inoue. It wasn't. It was the blonde woman whose night had been ruined by the decision to go home with a certain mysterious shop owner.

How many things a woman's presence in a man's bed can cause.


	4. Chapter 4

_10.16 AM Urahara's place_

She was still asleep when he woke up the next morning, and when he looked around he realized that he was trapped. He couldn't possibly move without waking her. It was always like this when they slept in the same bed. No matter how they started out, they somehow always managed to end up intertwined.

The night before they had gone to sleep at opposite ends of the bed. Him laying on his left side facing the door, while she on the other hand had been curled up in a ball facing the window. Now on the other hand, they had somehow managed to switch places. He was pinned to the bed with a wall blocking the only escape route. As Yoruichi's new sleeping position involved having him under her, he certainly couldn't have crawled out of the bed in any other way either.

He couldn't help but think that the previous night had been a huge mistake on so many levels, especially the going to sleep part. Naked. What the hell had he been thinking? Had he even been capable of thinking? He wasn't sure.

Actually, this would have been a very good waking up position, he admitted to himself, having a woman in his arms like this. Had it only not been his best friend that was his companion, but someone else, he wouldn't have had to feel so guilty about having his right hand resting on her ass.

He forced himself to think of something else than the feeling of her breasts against his chest, and the way her silky long hair was sprayed like a blanket, the only blanket, covering them. The soft purring noises she let out as she slept didn't help him to keep a steady breath either. If he was really honest with himself, he had to admit that she felt good, no right, to have that near his body. There were no walls between them, they were friends but not just quite. Somehow he knew that she never would have woken up in this compromising position if she had gone to sleep with someone else of their friends, him neither of course. That knowledge made the situation that much more queer.

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_Yoruichi had sometimes slept in the same bed as Tessai, when they had passed out from exhaustion after a day of work at Urahara's shop. _

_It was Kisuke who had brought them breakfast the morning afterwards. The porcelain had clattered as he had walked up the stairs, tray in one hand and a coffee jar in his other. He remember how he had hesitated before opening the door. Still, he had been morbidly curious. Could it be that she always woke up on top of her sleeping companions, not just him? It would spare his mind a lot of time analyzing their relationship. _

_The joints of the door had squealed as he had opened it. He took a deep breath and walked in. The sight he saw had been shocking._

_It didn't surprise him that Tessai had taken up almost every inch of the bed, but the surprising part was Yoruichi. She had been curled up in a ball by the foot of the bed. It was a very perplexing sight._

_She had already woken up by the time he had closed the door behind him. _

"_Hey," he had said, trying to keep a low tone while still trying to be heard over Tessai's heavy snoring. "You slept well?"_

"_Uh huh" she had answered obviously confused. She shrugged. "But I thought I would wake up differently."_

* * *

It was as if their subconsciousness was trying to say something. There were no other explanations. Even as his brain screamed NO!, his body screamed YES!

He hated himself for being aroused by her. She was a goddess, and he was… well, he was a scumbag, he thought to himself. But, what was worse than having his heart race like this was knowing that Yoruichi wouldn't even think twice about this when she woke up. To her it was a perfectly platonic sleeping position, even though she had previously admitted to never waking up like this with any of their other friends.

Between them however, it had happened many times before. In fact it happened every time they shared a bed. And just like before, he was certain that Yoruichi would only smile, stretch and ask if he had slept good before disappearing somewhere. Urahara admired that about her.

Difference was that they had never slept naked before, and he was anxious to see if her reaction would be any different this time.

After about half an hour she started to stir in her sleep and not before long she opened her eyes, looking around a bit disorientated while he made his best effort to pretend to sleep.

"Oh," was all she whispered before once more laying down her head to rest at the slope of his neck. She apparently didn't want to wake him.

"I'm awake," he murmured quietly.

He snickered and continued "Or can't you even feel that in my reiatsu?"

With that, Urahara had broken the early morning spell.

Yoruichi laughed, "I know you are."

"And you are still not moving?"

"Nah why should I? I am comfortable here. Watching you be all uncomfortable. It's fun."

"So fun," he muttered in a strained tone. "Why do we always end up like this?"

"End up like what?" she asked, playfully cocking an eyebrow at him. "Is something wrong?"

"You do realize that my hand is on your ass right?"

She feigned gasping. "What would my parents say if they knew?" She giggled softly, "It is only my ass, and if you are going to be like that, you should worry about other body parts instead."

She moved her hips suggestively. "Now there's your problem," she murmured into his ear.

"You know," Urahara said, trying his best not to notice what she was doing "That's one risky game you're playing at."

"Relax I'm only teasing you," Yoruichi said. And she laughed as she got up. "Let's do this again sometime," she joked.

There was a big bang as something hit the window, interrupting them. Yoruichi took up the sheets from the floor to cover herself and tripped over to get a better look.

"I CAN HEAR YOU ALL THE WAY DOWN HERE, YOU KNOW?" someone called from the streets below. "And it's not something I want to hear."

"ISSHIN! I was just having a bit of fun," she winked at him.

"Yeah, yeah," Isshin said. "You guys better let me in, or I'm letting myself in. I have news."


	5. Chapter 5

I thought I'd never say this but sorry for updating so fast, haha. I just felt that this would be a good last chapter for the day.

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_11.12 AM Urahara's place_

Isshin took a sip of the newly brewed coffee he had been offered. It smelled like it had a hint of sugar in it but tasted thick and sour as the flavor of some bad milk slipped through. He grimaced.

"Yeah, it sure tastes like the family is gone," he said disapprovingly. "And like you've been away a while Yoruichi. You do NOT want to drink that milk."

"Noted," she said, pouring herself a cup of black coffee instead. "And I know. I shouldn't have left you all those months. Didn't realize you boys couldn't manage on you own."

"I managed better before you showed up," Urahara said lazily.

It was first now he had entered the kitchen. Stretching while doing so. It came as no surprise to Yoruichi that he was in a bit of a mood after their evening and morning together.

"Well, hello to you too Sunshine! Managed to find your clothes?" Yoruichi winked, jumping out of his way to sit down by Isshin at the opposite side of the kitchen.

The chair creaked as she sat down. It was a well used chair, it probably had been there for close to a century. At least it had been there as long as she could recall. She smiled one of her large predatory smiles as she leaned over the small table and spoke confidentially. "Kisuke brought home a date last night."

Expecting a comment about it, she sat back in her chair once more. Shaking her head from side to side disapprovingly she added "A very hot date."

There was a quiet second when Yoruichi watched Isshin and waited for him to say something in reply, any remark about Urahara's escapades would do. Isshin did sit up more straight in his chair, but that was the only visible reaction. She could tell that he was about to answer from the way his eyes moved. They were however interrupted when she noticed that Urahara had sneaked up from behind her. Leaning over her with ease, he dug his gaze into her eyes. Locking hers with his. It wasn't a very pleasurable expression that had formed on his facial features. It was more like a dark shadow passed over his face. This was the infamous _I-had-a-very-bad-morning-and-if-you-want-to-keep-your-life,-let-me-be-alone _face, she had come to know and adore.

His cool demeanor was long gone.

"Hot date, huh?" Urahara said in one of his deepest voices. "That's why you scared her off? Did you feel threatened, jealous... or did you want her for yourself?"

Though he put on a pretty good show, he couldn't make Yoruichi feel threatened by his most cruel voice even for one second. They both knew that he didn't have it in him to be truly mad at her. And that was what made him look so damn sweet. The noise coming from his mouth screamed for vengeance, but his body was still relaxed, his heart still beating slowly.

Yoruichi only laughed at him, not taken aback by his remark. "There is coffee for you over there if you'd like some."

He ruffled her hair when he walked away. Not noticing his own uncanny behavior. "I think I actually missed you," he admitted.

There was something warm in their banter that brought Isshin back to reality. It wasn't more than a vibration in the air, something so short-lived and abstract that he couldn't be sure of what it really had been until it was already over. All that was left was a thought, playing on his mind, distorting it. He wondered, _Had this been one of those intimate moments, when his true friends had let their true feelings show?_

The Urahara-Yoruichi relationship had been so hard to define that he was intrigued to map out what they truly felt for each other. It was like watching a movie where you couldn't guess the ending of. While their relationship had never been one easily described in words, you could try to make it out in the images of their interactions. Still, Isshin had realized that it had too many levels to truly grasp. He could of course have cornered them and asked them if they were more than friends, but it would have been pointless. He strongly doubted that they would be able to explain themselves.

Curiously, Isshin tried to search Yoruichi's face for answers about what for a second had changed in the atmosphere of their relationship.

Though he thought that he saw both fear, love, pride, hate and anger dance through Yoruichi's eyes in one fleeting moment, it left him no wiser. _What on Earth had they been doing_, he wondered to himself. It would be one of his many games; trying to unwrap their mysterious behavior. But there wasn't any time for that right now.

"Listen," Isshin said, changing the subject. "I have news. And you better hear them fast, before they come."

"They?" Yoruichi asked.

"The Police." He took a deep breath. "I had to do an autopsy this morning. It was on a woman, murdered just a block from here."

"Was it a hollow?" Urahara asked, puzzled. He hadn't sensed any reiatsu. Then again, he hadn't felt Yoruichi's either.

"No, the police thought it was a human responsible. My autopsy showed the same results. The murdered woman was shot from behind. It was _not_ a pretty sight. Knife wounds are clean, but a bullet from point blank… You know how it is, bullet goes in – small fracture – but then it explodes and the hole going out... Well, let me tell you this. There weren't much brain matter left inside her when her body was brought in to me. Turns out she was a waitress down on 5th. The boyfriend was devastated."

Isshin paused for a second. His eyes focusing on the cup of horrendous tasting coffee in his hands.

"Why are you telling us this?" Yoruichi asked, perplexed. "We see dead bodies all the time."

"This girl was murdered when she was exiting the pub we went to earlier, Urahara," he continued. "And that's not all. I've been looking around for more information, these past few hours. You know what I realized? The police kept something from me. There was another woman who also was murdered last night, at the same place. She took a bullet to her stomach. Bled to death... You know why the police decided to let another doctor do that autopsy?"

There was a loaded pause. The trio looked at each other in silence, the only noise to be heard was the soft ticking of the kitchen clock and the wing-beats of a dove outside the window.

"Because I apparently was seen with the prime suspect mere hours before he left the pub with the murdered woman. Maria Hashi, was her name apparently. Blonde hair, western looking. Fluent in Japanese though, according to the witnesses." Isshin shook his head. "That's the 'hot date' Yoruichi mentioned, right?"

She must have been. Urahara could hear the echo of her laughter. He felt the soft touch of her warm hands. Saw the blue eyes stare into his, they had be so full with life and joy the night before. Could it really be? Was she dead?

"Please, tell me you have an alibi." he continued. "One that doesn't involve making the police believe and forget about the existence of talking cats? - No offense Yoruichi."

"No," Urahara said. Sitting down in obvious distress.

"Well, " Isshin said seriously. "Then you better think of one fast. The police are on their way as we speak."

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Dhum dum dum duuuuuh. Please review or say something if you want me to update this. It would mean a lot. Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

_12.15 PM Urahara's place_

Isshin had clearly overestimated the hurry he had been in to inform Urahara of the terrible twist his vacation had taken.

It wasn't until noon that the police showed up on the shop's doorstep, their rusty police car parking only a couple of meters from his front door.

Within moments from hearing the bell ring it's foreboding melody, Urahara had been ready to open it up to greet his unwelcome guests. They had been waiting several hours for them to arrive, but they still were not ready once they actually showed.

The officer cracked her fingers when she saw him.

"Mr Kisuke Urahara, I presume" she said in a stern voice.

Before he could ask if she would like to come inside, she had already stepped right passed him with a few steady steps. He slowly nodded from where he stood behind her, not knowing if she could still see him from the corners of her eyes.

"What a pleasure meeting you," she said, her painted lips were barely moving as she spoke. They had the odd color of ripe plum and looked oddly misplaced on her white face – like two worms crawling on the asphalt during a hot summer's day.

She looked around the hall before turning to look at Urahara again, flashing him a grin that showed off most of her yellow teeth. She broke the silence once more, adding "Is what I would have said, if it had been the truth".

It was as if the air had left the room, leaving a cold hollow feeling behind. Urahara was drowning in the abyss. Of all the different officers he had seen when he had envisioned this encounter, he certainly hadn't imagined someone like her. Not only did she come off as two-faced and bitter during their first encounter, he thought, but there was also something he found vaguely familiar about her facial features that made him wonder if she possibly lived close by, in that seniors' complex on the opposite side of the street. Still, he couldn't place where he had seen the elderly woman.

She reached out her hand to greet him. "Hi, I'm officer Tylien."

"Hello," Urahara said while shaking her hand. He smiled back suspiciously.

"Aren't you a disappointment," she said.

The woman sighted as she retracted her wrinkly hand and lowered her eyes to study the rings on her fingers. The only remotely beautiful one was the wedding band on her right hand – the other two were in tacky bright colors, probably left since a decade long gone. There was something he couldn't pinpoint, that was deeply disturbing about her body language.

"You are a horrible person, you know," she informed him then. There was a pause when her eyes shot to his. "I am only joking. Isn't that hilarious. Ha. Ha."

The officer wasn't smiling and there was more color in her grey hair than in her eyes when she eyed him. She sighed again, this time more deeply. Every breath she took sounded more wheezily than the last. Her voice was that of a chain-smoker, he realized.

"I would be allowed to say that to you if I wanted," she added and gave him a small smile. "Because I am not here to question _you_, you slimy bastard. _He _will be questioning you."

The officer pointed to her colleague and driver who had been parking their police car.

"Don't worry. He won't bite." she continued. "Now, as for me. Is Miss Shihouin Yoruichi here? You both need to come with us downtown to the station."


	7. Chapter 7

_1.15 PM Karakura Town's Southern Police Station_

Once every five years, Yoruichi got a headache.

This was one of those godforsaken days and as she, Urahara and their escorts walked into the police station it felt as if she was drowning in the sounds of it. It was just so much noise echoing in her ears.

She could hear the tapping of peoples' feet as they were waiting impatiently for it to be their turn to be helped with their matters and she could hear the police officer who was pushing Urahara in front of him, the officer was chewing a gum. It was all driving her insane, and what irritated her more was that she didn't even want to analyze her surroundings further.

There wasn't any need for her to notice the unlocked backdoor, the vent on the far left corner or the exact location of the thirteen weapons in the room. This was a matter for the human system to take care of and as such, it wasn't the place to attempt to solve the situation with her shinigami abilities. At least not until she knew if the police really considered Urahara to be the only suspect or not. If the legal system didn't threaten to throw any of them in jail, who was she to get herself involved in things she didn't have to do? Why do something unnecessary when she and Urahara already had so much on their own plate as it was with Ichigo and his friends?

No matter how hard she tried not to, her own frustration had heightened her senses and perception of the surroundings. Not only could she smell the mold that had infected the ceiling of the floor above, her predatory ears also made sure she could hear everything from within a fifty meters area.

Somewhere in the background she could make out the ping of a bicycle's bell as it went through the street outside and in the far distance she could hear a dog bark at a mailman. Against her will, she noticed that most people at the station had drops of sweat all over their overweight bodies and that some of them were waving the morning news paper in front of their faces in an attempt to keep cool in the heat.

"Right this way, Miss," the officer said. Before she knew it, she was sitting on a grey couch in a room with a park view. On the coffee table stood a pack of tissues, waiting to be used by a widower or a regretful murderer alike.

Yoruichi wondered if the room Urahara was in with his officer looked quite as nice and nonthreatening.

"Miss Shihouin Yoruichi, I have some questions for you regarding the murder of miss Maria Hashi and miss Julia Jenkins," the female inspector said. She straightened her skirt as she spoke. "But before you tell us your story, I need to know if you are acquainted to Mr Urahara in anyway?"

Yoruichi nodded slowly in response to the question. She raised her eyebrows at the officer, bidding her to continue.

"We have received several tips leading us to question his innocence," the officer said bluntly. "If this case, God forbids, goes to court the law says that you cannot testify under oath if you are close to the suspect. In that case, you have an option if you want to tell your story or not. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Yoruichi said.

"I'll ask you once more, do you know Mr Kisuke Urahara?"

"Yes," she answered, smiling briefly at the woman sitting in front of her.

"Are you related in any way?"

The way the older woman was asking the questions in her very monotonous tone, that gave Yoruichi the shrills. She couldn't help but stir in the comfortable sofa, adjusting her legs to be tucked away beneath her slim frame.

"No," she said uncomfortably.

"Are you and Mr Urahara married or living together in cohabitation?"

Yoruichi sighed. "Define cohabitation."

"Do you have an intimate relationship, quite like the bond of matrimony?"

Her eyes flickered to the window. Of course they didn't have a relationship like that, she thought. … Or had they?

Over the years, they had formed a bond much deeper and stronger than that of a human marriage. Urahara was not only her friend, but her best friend and one of her oldest friends. They had never slept together, it wasn't like that. He had been a shoulder to cry on when she needed it, and she had held his head in her lap and stroked his blonde hair when he had felt the world crashing down on him.

They had kissed, yes, but mostly in the beginning. Back in Soul Society… when they used to run around and train and drink sunshine and wine during every free hour they got – after a day spent dealing with violence and death. It had been before they had felt the need to set boundaries between them, back when they had still been young and naive.

Their lips had locked on more than a couple occasions after their escape to the human world too, only difference was that it had always been her who took the initiative from that moment on. It was as if their relationship had changed along with the world itself, she thought sadly. Now one could easily think that they were like brother and sister to each other, without any romantic past or future.

"If you mean to ask if we have sex, then no" she said simply, gracefully ducking out of trying to explain their complex bond.

"How blunt of you," the woman commented, straightening her skirt once more. "Are you sure? Young woman like you, handsome man. Really expect me to believe that?"

A faint smile touched Yoruichi's lips for a second. "It's the truth"

The officer sighed, her red lips forming a smile for the first time since Yoruichi first had seen her.

"For your sake, I really do hope so. Anyway, if you don't belong to any of those groups, then you're not entitled to get any… special treatment. You have to testify. Though I cannot ignore the fact that you do know Mr Urahara… Now then. Tell me, what happened last night?"

The younger woman scratched her head with long, claw like nails as she tried to remember where it had begun. The atmosphere of the room was ice cold, intimidating.

"I arrived about 11 PM. There was no one home, but I let myself in anyway. Figured someone would show eventually."

She could see officer Tylien crease her eye brows, her red lips clamping in a thin red line.

"Do you have keys to the house?" she asked seriously.

"No," Yoruichi answered immediately.

"Was the door unlocked?"

The cat door was, of course, and a window on the second floor was as always open just as much so that she could have gotten in that way, had she wanted to. If she could only explain what she really was… her little secret… then everything would be alright, she knew it would. That wasn't an option and since the door didn't have any signs of forced entry, she knew she only had one possible answer.

"Yes," Yoruichi said with a plain face.

The officer shot a glance to a video camera in one of the corners of the room. Judging from it's red lights, it that was taping everything.

"When did you realize that Mr Urahara wasn't home?"

"Outside," she said. It was the truth, she hadn't felt any reiatsu from the inside.

"And you went inside anyway?"

"Yes, I was hungry. I wanted to get something to eat."

"And you are sure the front door was unlocked when you arrived?"

The younger woman gulped involuntarily. She was dancing on very thin ice, one misstep and her story would fall through. No matter what, she couldn't let anyone know that she was also a cat... Or else she would have to kill the one finding out, she thought. She never enjoyed killing, her role as a shinigami was to protect the living from what was already dead – not bring death upon people.

"Yes," she said, thinking it would be better to stick with one story throughout this ordeal.

"Could anyone else have gotten in?" officer Tylien asked.

"No, the house was empty."

"Did you lock the door from the inside?"

"Yes."

It was already locked, Yoruichi thought, remembering Urahara's struggle with the keys the night before. This was the only way to continue her story, to make it plausible She just hoped that the officer wouldn't notice something odd. Oh damn, there was that creepy smile again. It could only mean one thing, there had been people watching, seeing that the lights hadn't been turned on at Urahara's during the evening. Nobody had seen her...

"Did you see Mr Urahara that night?"

"He came home some time during the night, yes. Might have been at 2 AM?"

"And you were, where then?" the officer let her red lips curl into a small knowing smile.

"Outside, taking a late night stroll. I got back when he did."

"With him?" the officer asked.

"At the same time, yes," she answered as the could recall the dead woman's comment about seeing her by the entrance. She figured Urahara would say the same to his interrogators, and it would be more plausible if they had the same story.

The officer briefly looked at the surveillance camera with those mean eyes of hers.

Now she was in trouble, Yoruichi could tell. The seniors across the street must have been up even then, at 2 AM in the morning, spying on the shop owner. It was their hobby, she wasn't surprised. They had seen Urahara and a blonde woman, but not her. Damn it.

"Did you see miss Hashi or miss Jenkins during the night?"

"I only saw Maria Hashi."

"Around when?"

"I saw her enter the building with Urahara."

"Did you see her exit the building?"

"I heard her leave, but Kisuke didn't follow. He went to sleep instead. We both did."

Officer Tylien adjusted her feet, her sneakers sliding across the marble floor as she did so. She looked oddly misplaced in this setting.

"Could he have sneaked out after her?"

Yoruichi couldn't help but smile when she recalled how strained his walk had been and their intimate their sleeping position later on. "No."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because we shared a bed."

One of the officer's eyebrows shot up. Her eyes bore into those of the younger woman.

"You shared a bed?"

"Yes."

Officer Tylien stood up, walking over to the video camera and turning it off. Yoruichi could make out a faint scent of papaya and coconut from hers shampoo even from the corner where she stood.

"Off the records," the officer said, her face was grim and sad. "I feel obligated to tell you something. The case of miss Hashi's death isn't the only one Mr Urahara is a suspect in, this case also follows the pattern of a murder that occurred little over 20 years ago. Because of this new case, Mr Urahara has also been made a suspect in that case. That one also involved a young woman being found dead within two hours of leaving his home."

There were no emotions showing on Yoruichi's features, but deep down she was terrified, just as anyone else would have been in that situation. Why was he a suspect in a twenty year old case? Had they realized something was off with their aging? They had kept such a low profile, how could it be?

"But he was barely ten years old then," her tone was blank.

The officer smiled while opening the room's wooden door. She held it for the younger woman to exit.

"I'm just saying, be careful, Miss. We are going to arrest Mr Urahara, but you are free to leave. And I suggest you do so."


	8. Chapter 8

_2.35 PM Urahara's place_

When Yoruichi got back to the house she found it in the exact condition they had left it in earlier. It was almost too empty. But just almost. She liked how quiet and calm it was inside – it was enough to make her believe that the many things that had happened during the day were nothing but images in a bad dream. If it wasn't for the stifled cries the wooden walls made as they were exposed to the burning sun outdoor, she could have sworn the world outside completely vanished the moment she closed the front door after her.

The solitude fitted her like a glove. She was free to run around the house as much as she wanted, taking long steamy baths until her toes got wrinkly from the hot water. Better yet, she was free to dig up her friends' dirty little secrets, which they surely kept hidden at the bottom of their wardrobes or tucked away under their beds. The family men façade Tessai and Urahara had picked up didn't fool her one bit and she was sure that Tessai for instance had more than a few toys left from his long bachelor period hidden away somewhere, waiting to be found.

Actually, she thought. She didn't want to know about those kind of things right now. Finding such items certainly wouldn't help her keep her mind off the things she had been trying to avoid ever since she had left the station. Like the tense body Kisuke had displayed the previous day. His muscles were etched to her retina in a way she never imagined they ever would be. She had seen his body covered in bruises from the burst veins below, she had seen him covered in blood from head to toe. Some times it had been his own. But despite the countless times she had seen him laugh off a grave injury while she helped him wash the clotted blood out of his golden hair; despite the numerous times she had laid naked beside him as they slept beside each other – despite all of it, had she only once before looked at him with any true romantic interest while in the human world.

It must have been decades since that one previous time happened, and at that moment she had promised herself to never again be taken by surprise like that.

Shit, she thought, as she stood there in the hallway contemplating her next move. In her defense to it all, the reason she had showed up in their house was because she had been feeling lonely and desperate for human contact. A laughter shared among friends was what she had thought she had wanted. And his full frontal had taken her by surprise. That was everything it had been, surprise, she thought miserably.

Wasn't this one for the books, she thought. She wanted to fuck the brains out of her oldest friend… Damn, she needed to think of something else, anything else than this!

She decided to change into more comfortable clothes and go training in the basement in a desperate attempt to pass the time. If she was lucky Kisuke would return soon. When he did, they could go to a pub and drink sake and flirt with people one could flirt with without ruining themselves – or rather before she ruined them.

She knew she wasn't Urahara's type. The woman the day before had been blonde and far more voluptuous than herself and the previous one had looked like a super model from what she could recall – skinny and inexperienced.

Why did this have to happen to her? It wasn't like Kisuke was her type either. He had been, once – in between the fair innocent of youth and her doomed and brief relationship with Soi Fon back in Soul Society. But that was a long time ago.

As she ran around the training area she couldn't help but think about when it could have been that she had stopped merely loving him, and actually had fallen in love with him. Was it during that time two decades ago, when she had walked in on him – or was it much, much earlier? Was she even in love with him? Or was it only overpowering lust that raged inside of her, tearing her to pieces from the inside? She decided on the latter option as it was the least painful one.

Damn, she would kick his ass when he got back here. No amount of training could give her rest from the demon tearing at her mind, trying to rip out her heart and cut open her aorta. It was all his fault. His fault, and that damn police officer with her stupid questions. Why had she been forced to recall last night? She wanted it long forgotten. Now, at once. Before…

She could feel her breath sing along with her heart beats as she ran for all she was worth, trying to escape her infinite doom. She was building up a bit of a sweat, enjoying the way her trained muscles tensed and released with every step she took. A cloud of dust formed behind her every time a steady foot hit the ground.

Yoruichi let her mind focus on a slighter less pleasant subject than her friend's abdominal muscles. She wondered who the real killer was. It hadn't been Urahara, even though her testimony hadn't exactly helped him clear his name. She had, if anything, only succeeded in the destruction of his alibi.

Her small comfort was that they no matter how much she screwed up couldn't keep him more than a couple of hours without better proof supporting their theory. She was certain they wouldn't find any new proofs, at least not that day, and since Urahara had been detained for more than six hours now, she figured he would probably show any minute.

She wasn't ready for that. If he only hadn't been a first time criminal according to their records… if only… Then he would have had to be bailed out, not released like this.

In that case Yoruichi could have said that she had forgotten to bring the necessary money or told him that she was stuck in traffic as she collected her thoughts. She grimaced as she came to a halt from her intense spurt.

When she realized that fanning her hot face with rapid movements didn't help her body cool down, she decided to sink into the hot spring instead. Slipping out of her clothes and letting her body soak in the warm water, she momentarily forgot all her troubles.

It wasn't until she had decided to get up in order to get ready for her planned evening out, she remembered that she hadn't brought a towel down with her. It wasn't much to do about it. With steady steps she moved to where Urahara kept his towels, in one of the bedroom wardrobes, the one closest to the entrance – the one behind the door Kisuke had pressed his date up against the previous night, she thought absently.

It didn't take her long to get upstairs, and she couldn't help but grin as she opened the closet to find a lot of neatly folded towels in different sizes, just as she had expected.

Yoruichi padded her damp face against the soft fabric of a small one. Her clothes lay on a heap on the floor beneath her bare feet.

There was the familiar sound of a door opening and closing, "Oy, up here," she yelled to the man downstairs.

"They released me," came the tired reply as the man dragged himself upstairs. "Apparently they now lean toward it being a woman who attacked the girls."

"That's good," she said as she moved to sit on the bed. Unembarrassed, she sat with her legs spread, her upper body resting on her elbows behind her.

Urahara shot a glance at her as he leaned against the door heavily, seemingly not noticing her. "Not that your story helped," he added, shooting her one of his characteristic smiles.

"I know, sorry," she replied with a small grimace.

"Uh huh," was all he said, not really believing her sincerity - with right.

"Anyway, that calls for a celebration," Yoruichi said, smiling at him.

The clock had just struck eight, and he briefly registered that his whole day had been spent in a cell. It had been the most boring day he had had in a very long time and all he wanted was for it to end.

"What do you have in mind?" he asked.

Kisuke had let his guard down and was beginning to remove some of the hot garments that lay plastered across his skin because of the heat. His shirt joined her clothes on the floor with a soft thud.

He paused when she didn't answer, looking over at her place on the bed. Only to find her face mere centimeters from his.

"Well," was all she said, digging her eyes into his. Her lips were almost touching his chin as she spoke, her hot breath dancing across his skin.

"Yoruichi," Urahara said warningly, peering back into her yellow eyes.

"Don't start something you don't plan to finish," he said in a angry voice.

"I am just teasing you," she grinned, letting her tongue slide across his jaw line to further punctuate her words. "And I am bored."

When she saw his look of disapproval Yoruichi's smile disappeared. She shook her head from side to side, trying to hide the hurt and disappointed look to her face.

"Can't a girl play with her food nowadays?" she muttered as she turned away from him.

She didn't know what had possessed her to corner him like that, but all she knew was that she couldn't concentrate on anything other than the memory of the previous night. It was as if it drowned out every ounce of self preservation that was left in her.

Her feet moved to take a step away from her close friend, to disappear into the night. She wasn't planning on returning in a very long time. She couldn't believe he was rejecting her like this, had he not only 24 hours earlier said how much he had needed female company? Couldn't he see how much she wanted him?

* * *

_A/N When life gives you lemon, make lemonade – that's how the saying goes, right? Well, this story is rated M for a reason. If you don't like it, don't read the next chapter. It does contain a lemon:). You have been warned._


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N 1) Sorry for the late update. 2) Warning! Chapter "Contains" Lemon._

* * *

_8.04 PM Urahara's place_

"Can't a girl play with her food nowadays?" Yoruichi said as the turned away from Urahara. Her feet moved to take a step away from her close friend, to disappear into the night.

She felt a muscular arm clasping at her shoulder, hindering her from leaving. Her friend had moved with an overwhelming speed and she hadn't had any chance to process his movement or move out off his path. Kisuke buried his face in her thick hair, breathing her scent. "You most certainly can not", he murmured into the top of her head. Without letting his hands leave her body, he moved to hold her against him, his hands casually hugging her hips and stomach while doing so.

Surprised, Yoruichi froze. Could it be that he was merely playing with her, like she had been teasing and testing him countless times over the decades they had spent together? Yet, judging by the way his large hands slid over her broad hips and the way he was nuzzling her hair, it certainly didn't feel like he was only teasing her.

"I told you it was a risky game you were playing at," he breathed and he let his lips brush against her as he spoke.

Yoruichi didn't say a word. She turned in his arms, tugging at the hem of his pants. She was running a finger underneath the lining of green fabric.

"I'm too tired to hold back," he continued slowly. His voice drifted off into nothingness as he eyed her lips, tracing their contours with his eyes.

Yoruichi took a half step backwards, away from her oldest friend. She was unbuttoning his pants in silence. She captured his grey eyed with hers and it wasn't until the thin garment covering him fell to the ground along with his boxers that she momentarily broke eye contact. Her golden set gliding over his body, absorbing him. When she looked up into his eyes once more, there was a faint hint of darkness in her eyes. Unlike the previous day, there wasn't any trace of boredom on her features.

"Then don't," was all she said. Yoruichi's voice was husky with lust and want and when she let her fingers whisk across his toned chest they felt as light as feathers. They drifted slowly like a cool breeze, leaving goosebumps on his skin in the wasteland of their rampages.

Urahara's own hands moved with steady determination over the uncharted but familiar territory that was her warm body. She felt hot under his hands, sensitive to his every touch. He traced the contour of her arm muscles, he outlined her hips and her buttocks. When his hands finally moved to slide over her ample bosom his eyes met hers once more. Yoruichi smiled one of those dangerous smiles of hers. All he wanted was to close the short distance between them and feel her body pressed against his, but he was afraid to scare her off. Afraid to want too much, to be too much.

He moved to stroke one of her long strands of jet black hair from her temple, her yellow eyes never leaving his face. He felt a hand on his chin and before he knew it, she was angling his head toward her. She stretched her body flush against his in a languid motion, moaning softly when she felt his already hard erection press against her stomach.

When he felt her lips clashing into his, her lips felt smooth and harsh at the same time. She was playing with his lower lips, teasing him with her tongue, licking and biting. His hands had moved to her hair, twirling and twisting in it, bidding her to deepen the kiss. Desperately wanting to taste her, to hear her catch her breath and to feel her body arch against his in pleasure, he lifted her up, with one hand gently caressing her right breast. Of all the times they had felt connected to each other in any way, this beat all.

It was familiar, but new.

All he could hear was one thing, the sound of her and his own heartbeats. It was a sound full of life. Rhythmic and steady as a drum they beat together as one. It was the sound of an antelope's hooves spurting from a certain death in the jaws of a lion.

Yoruichi felt herself being pressed steadily between Urahara and the wall. Her legs were thrown around his body, clinging to him. Her lips locked with his in a deep kiss, their tongues battling for control as they danced together. When they grasped for air, their breath was hoarse and shallow.

She threw her head back, gasping, and his head followed hers moments afterwards. His stubble felt rough against the soft skin of her throat. His lips brushed against her jawline, hungrily.

She lowered her head, her forehead pressing against his. She looked disheveled, the ecstasy obvious in her eyes. Her lips curled into a wide smile.

Urahara smiled back at her before he kissed her pulse, sucking on it, his hands never stopping their onslaught on her breasts. As he massaged her breasts in a harsh frantic motion, she raked her sharp nails against his back, making him hiss from the sudden pain. Capturing the momentum of surprise, she moved so her lips were on his again, smashing against him with an animalistic ruthlessness.

She adjusted her legs, letting a throaty moan slip from within as she felt his erection press against her core. Her eyes were flipping backwards into her head. He hissed, pulling her close. His hands were travelling to her hips.

"Kisuke," she moaned. He was holding her steady, keeping her from grinding against him.

Her hands traveled downwards the top of Urahara's thighs and inwards. She was stroking his manhood in an almost excruciatingly slow and soft motion, leaving an almost too overwhelming feeling spreading throughout his body. He accidentally bit down on her tongue in his mouth, drawing blood.

Yoruichi only laughed in response, flashing him a smile red with blood. "Hey, ouch," she said in a voice drunken with pleasure, as she continued her teasing movements.

He smiled back at her, "Don't do that," his dry voice rang. It was almost too much for him. She was almost too much for him.

In an attempt to regain control over himself, Urahara's face had left hers and she had been heaved up to straddle his chest. His lips were on her left breast, a hand on the other one, pinching and rubbing her. She involuntarily arched against him as she felt rays of pleasure shoot from within. She dug her fingers into his blonde hair to keep his mouth on her. He licked every inch of exposed skin he could reach, leaving it moist for the air to taunt. She whimpered.

"Anyone tell you what a torture you are?" she murmured, her eyes were clouded with pleasure. She showed him away from her, so that he lost his grip. The sensation of the cold floor against her bare foot was a welcomed change.

Urahara smiled into her hair almost cruelly, leaving a trail of with feathery kisses as he moved down to her ear, "You've seen nothing yet," he whispered. His breath felt hot against her skin, sending shrills of pleasure and expectation down her spine.

She trembled in his arms, kissing him harshly. In a slow and steady motion she let her hands travel south to were they really wanted to be. He closed his eyes when her fingers closed around his root. Her fingertips were caressing him in a circular motion from his base to the tip. "Don't you dare lifting me out of reach again," she whispered huskily as he moaned into her hair, kissing every part of her he could get a hold off.

His hands were on her hips, tracing their fine contours with experienced but shaky hands. It took all the strength he possessed not to come right there and then. Yoruichi writhed with him. He lifted her again and she let him steady her body against the wall once more.

Their eyes locked together, driven mad from pleasure and lust. He dug his lips into hers as he pushed into her, entering her with a swift motion. She was almost unbelievably wet and hot around him. He hugged Yoruichi close as her body arched against his once more. Her eyes rolled backwards along with her body. Her hands holding him pressed flush against her body.

When Urahara retreated, she whimpered softly, not wanting to let go of him.

With every thrust their breath became more shallow and she moved with him in an unbearable slow pace, he buried his head in her thick hair, breathing her in. The beats of their hearts grew as fluttery as a doves, their moans rang as harsh as death.

They were caught up in each other. The mess they had made of their relationship was one they didn't care to analyze. This wasn't in their nature. Yet, somehow, it was. Their bodies' dance was only a mere manifestation of the bond that had grown between them over the decades.

Yoruichi came only seconds before him. Even afterwards, he didn't let her go. Neither of them wanted to break the connection. It wasn't until the two had crashed on his bed that he retreated from within her.

Yoruichi smiled at him as he fell on top of her, completely spent.

She let her fingers get tangled in his chest hair, drawing circles on him as her fingers traveled over his body.

Urahara looked at her face, his entire body radiating pure untainted love. He bent to kiss her but before he was able to capture her lips with his, his mouth was met by a hand, hindering his attempt.

The woman beneath him smiled at his confusion, "Goodnight, best friend," she said. She turned away from him, facing the wall.

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_A/N Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!  
_


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